LA County Swiftwater Rescue Teams Called Back From Oroville

ARCADIA, CA — Though swiftwater rescue teams in Southern California were ready to answer the call of Oroville, in the emergency involving the dam and spillway, those calls for aid were cancelled early Monday.

"All but three swiftwater rescue teams were cancelled, with regard to OCFA," Fire Capt. Larry Kurtz said over twitter. OCFA's swiftwater teams were expected to return home by Monday afternoon according to Kurtz.

The teams from the Los Angeles County Fire Department, Los Angeles Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority and Long Beach Fire Department were all cancelled while on the road to Oroville, said Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Ed Pickett, adding that the crisis in Oroville has eased a bit.

State officials said late Sunday that water stopped spilling over the emergency spillway as the lake level dropped and that the emergency spillway's concrete lip was holding, according to news reports.

The swiftwater rescue teams are all part of an Urban Search and Rescue task force that provides mutual aid when called upon.

About 188,000 people remained evacuated from the Oroville area due to concerns over damage to Oroville Dam spillways.

Shutterstock photo